Minimise the risk of fraud with your bank

There are millions of bank account holders who are leaving themselves wide open to fraud, according to Britain's tops banks.

Industry body the British Bankers Association (BBA) has teamed up with the police to launch a campaign which they hope will raise the public's awareness on all things fraud, looking at the most common scams that will happen online or down the phone.

Based on the results of a YouGov poll, the BBA said that eight million people are vulnerable to voice phishing scams, four million may transfer money to fraudsters, three million could potentially carry out "test transactions" and 1.7 million would hand their bank cards to couriers on their doorstep if they had a convincing form of ID.

Best not to answer the phone or door to anyone, ever.

Anthony Browne, chief executive of the BBA, said: "Being defrauded is a devastating experience for anyone which is why we are launching this campaign. The more people know about fraud, the less likely they are to become victims."

"Our Know Fraud, No Fraud campaign will help you spot some of the tactics used by scammers. Your bank would never send someone to your home to collect your cash or ask you to transfer funds to a new account."

So, for your records to be printed out and stapled to grandma's forehead as a reminder to her and everyone else, here's the BBA's List of Things That Your Bank Will Never Ask For.

- Ask for your full PIN number or any online banking password over the phone or via email- Send someone to your home to collect cash, bank cards or anything else- Ask you to email or text personal or banking information- Send an email with a link to a page that asks you to enter your online banking log-in details- Ask you to authorise the transfer of funds to a new account or hand over cash- Call to advise you to buy diamonds or land or other commodities- Ask you to carry out a test transaction online